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It All
Comes Down to Water: Connecting UMD, Litter, Storm Water and Lake Superior

Senior Nicole Hynum is aware that UMD is connected to
Lake Superior. Not only does the campus have spectacular lake views
from almost every building, it also has a more direct connection. Water
flowing from the UMD campus only takes 5 minutes to reach Lake Superior,
carrying pollutants in its path.

Hynum is a member of the UMD Storm Water Steering Committee,
and along with about 20 other UMD students, has been involved with UMD's
stormwater runoff effort to slow and purify rain water before it leaves
the campus. Pictured: Nicole Hynum and
Candice Richards.

For over a year, Hynum has lead a nine-member subcommittee
of UMD faculty, staff and students to examine one facet of the situation,
litter. They are trying to figure out why UMD students litter and they
will create an educational campaign to hopefully change littering behaviors.
“The UMD litter subcommittee is dedicated to raising awareness
about the littler problems at UMD and the surrounding watershed,”
she said.

During Earth Week Cleanup 2004, the group assessed the
problem by logging types of litter in various locations. It was a full
campus initiative with participation from students, student groups,
entire classes, faculty, and staff. The results of the cleanup provided
important insight into what kind of litter was found, as well as who
was doing the littering. The worst areas were around the large residence
halls, in front of the library, and at the entry to Solon Campus Center.

In order to better understand the student population's
attitudes toward litter, they asked 390 people selected at random to
fill out a survey in exchange for a slice of pizza. They also conducted
three focus groups: off-campus residents, on-campus residents, and student
group leaders.

The survey and the focus groups provided valuable insight
into why students litter, what would help students litter less, and
what they think should be done to reduce litter on UMD’s campus.
“Most of the litter was plastic and glass drink bottles, fast
food containers and cigarette butts,” said Hynum. “The most
common reason for littering was a lack of receptacles.” The group
heard stories about people walking across campus, holding messy litter,
trying to find somewhere to put it. In addition, respondents, for the
most part, did not make the connection between litter and stormwater
runoff.

“I was actually shocked to hear another reason students
littered. Many people told us they thought UMD hired staff specifically
to clean up the trash.” Hynum heard encouraging news as well.
“Almost 90 percent of the students we interviewed had participated
in a volunteer cleanup project.”

Some immediate changes were made to the campus, thanks
to committee member John Weiske, director of housing, who purchased
dumpsters with better covers to prevent properly disposed of litter
from blowing away.

The litter subcommittee’s next step was to address
the comments of the respondents. They have developed four proposals
to reduce litter on the UMD campus. The first is to introduce more waste
receptacles at critical high traffic areas. The second is to hold a
one-day unit in the freshman Intro to College Learning class to address
litter and stormwater. Third, the service organization, SERVE has tentatively
agreed to organize a yearly Earth Week Cleanup and pizza party as one
of its yearly initiatives. Finally, they are designing a poster to remind
housing residents to help reduce UMD's litter.

This litter education initiative is just one of the best
management practices that is part of UMD's Storm Water Pollution Prevention
Plan. Candice Richards, associate director and Erik Larson, senior engineer,
are leading the UMD stormwater initiative, through Facilities Management
and support Nicole's internship opportunity in collaboration with MN
Sea Grant. This summer Facilities Management will construct a rain garden
to collect rain water from a large parking lot and to serve as a demonstration
site to the campus and community. The garden will filter and slow the
water down before it flows into one of the many streams flowing into
Lake Superior. UMD is also a member of the Regional Storm Water Protection
Team, a group of 20 communities and agencies working together to protect
the Western Lake Superior watershed.